GRAND RAPIDS, MI — The Grand Rapids Food Co-op wants to put its first grocery store – specializing in affordable, healthy local food – on the ground-floor of a 7-story independent senior living center planned for the corner of Division Avenue and Logan Street SE.

But before that can happen, it needs to raise enough money to make that goal a reality.

Linda Jones, president of the co-op, says her organization will need to attract about 1,000 members and raise at least $1.2 million by 2020, before the senior living center, known as Tapestry Square, opens.

Raising $1.2 million will enable the grocery store to borrow the remaining funding needed for the project – $2.2 million, she said.

It won’t be easy, but Jones is confident the co-op’s mission of communal ownership and providing healthy, locally grown food to an underserved part of the city will resonate with the community.

“I think the community is going to rally around this project because it empowers people to solve their own problems, and that’s one of food access in the center of town,” she said.

The proposed co-op would be 10,000-square-feet. Residents can become members by purchasing a one-time $250 share, which can be paid in full or over a 10-month period. Low-income residents can buy a share for $25.

Food co-ops are owned and governed by members, who determine the vision and scope of services. The Grand Rapids Food Co-op’s profits would be reinvested in the organization’s mission, rather than going to shareholders, Jones said.

Plans call for the co-op to include a deli, a buffet with hot food, such as macaroni and cheese, and a community room with a demonstration kitchen, Jones said. It may also include a café.

Shoppers could find everyday groceries sold at most supermarkets. But the emphasis would be on local and organic food – not soda and junk food. Jones said the co-op would be comparable to a Whole Foods grocery store, only cheaper.

“We’re not trying to make as much profit as possible,” she said. “We’re trying to provide affordable food for our community.”

The co-op has not officially signed an agreement with the Inner City Christian Federation to lease space at Tapestry Square. But officials with the organization have supported the idea, Jones said.

Officials with ICCF could not be reached for comment Thursday night.

The co-op would join two grocery stores that recently opened in downtown Grand Rapids – Meijer’s Bridge Street Market and a Gordon Food Service store on Michigan Street. Also, a renovated Great Giant Supermarket is now operating on Madison Avenue SE.

Jones said there’s room for another grocery store.

The co-op’s mission will be to serve residents in a part of Grand Rapids that has not shared in the reinvestment happening in other city neighborhoods, such as the burgeoning Bridge Street corridor. But others will be attracted to shop there as well, because of its emphasis on communal ownership and support for local farmers.

“There isn’t a grocery store nearby, and it’s in an area that could bring together disparate communities around our food co-op, people that don’t see each other that often because they move in different circles,” she said.